Health Care Reforms
On 3/23/2010, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was established and focused on the making healthcare services available for the low-income household as well as everyone in America. As such, it is evident that the quality of health care has significantly improved over time as a result of healthcare reforms such as the ACA. Additionally, the economics of accessing medical care have massively increased as a consequence of these reforms. Furthermore, patient safety, being the core objective of healthcare professionals, has improved as a result of healthcare reforms. This essay transcends a critical analysis of three articles that depict how healthcare reforms have improved quality of health, economics as well as patient safety.Health Care Reforms: A Critical Analysis
Health Care Reforms and Quality
Health Quality refers to the equity of health care services among individuals regardless of their level of income. According to Koh and Sebelius (2010), the Affordable Care Act has brought improvement in the quality of care through its ability to promote prevention. As such, Koh and Sebelius (2010) analyze precisely how the quality of health has improved after the approval of the ACA. In their article, they stipulate that ACA provides for free access screening for chronic illnesses such as breast cancer, HIV, diabetes, and other chronic diseases. With this policy in place, individuals can now experience quality care since they can assess their health status as they are screened earlier for preventable diseases. Second, the article articulates that ACA authorizes substantial investments to bolster primary care workforce. For instance, the law allocated $1.5 billion to the National Health Service Corporation in the fiscal year 2015 and 2011.
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Furthermore, Obama et al. (2016) suggest that ever since the enactment of Medicaid and Medicare, the ACA has enabled a significant number of the American populace to access care and health insurance cover. Notably, Obama et al. (2016) report that the number of uninsured persons in the US has declined from 49,000,000 in the year 2010 to 29 million in the year 2015. This statistic apparently relates to the fact that most Americans are now accessing care which contributes to higher quality of life for the nation.Health Care Reforms: A Critical Analysis
Health Reforms and Economics.
According to Obama et al. (2016), the cost health care significantly affect the economy as well as the federal budget coupled with the financial well-being of an American citizen. Arguably, the authors in this article stipulate that ever since 2010, the cost of health care has reduced significantly following the establishment of the ACA. As such, it is documented that Americans account for medical cost irrespective of their income. Additionally, Senkubuge, Modisenyane, and Bishaw (2014) suggest that an economy deteriorates as a result of increase and re-emerging of diseases. Also, the authors suggest that there need for each and every government of put plans in fostering better health care for its populace to boost productivity. In relation to the case with America, it is evident that most individuals are offered a chance to accept Advanced Premium Tax Credit (APTC) – a subsidy that allows for a reduction of premiums for individuals based on household income(Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury, 2013). As such, APTC can be owed back to the federal reserve dependent on the actual income at the end of the year (Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury, 2013).
Evidently, it can be concluded that the health care reforms such as Medicaid, Medicare, and ACA have significantly improved the health status of individuals in America. As suggested by Senkubuge, Modisenyane, and Bishaw (2014), the general health status of a worker in a healthy nation relates to their productivity levels. Now, American are working on a 24-hour system indicating the economy of America has significantly improved. Also, accessing health care services has become cheaper for the low-income earners as well as high-income earners.
Health Reforms and Patient Safety
Patient Safety refers to a rigorous effort within health care to reduce injuries caused while on treatment as well as reduction of medical errors. Patient safety being a major goal in health care has been addressed in the most health care organization. As Leape (2015) suggests, patient safety needs a change of systems to avoid harm to patients at all cost. Even though change is difficult, the health care reforms stipulated in the America have focused on reducing harm to a patient through medical errors. Reforms have focused on the implementation of Electronic Health Records that reduce human error as well use of standardized medication that satisfies federal laws. Arguably, the government has focused on articulating that organizations must follow standards of practice about the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. As such, the physician and the nurse are accountable for any harm done on the patient. Furthermore, patient information must be kept private and confidential regarding these health care reforms (Wu, Ahn, & Hu, 2012).Health Care Reforms: A Critical Analysis
Conclusion
Conclusively, as the ACA continues to be implemented across the nation. It is a necessity for policy makers to make changes that must improve the current state of the healthcare sector. As such, policies must be stipulated in relation to the cost and benefit assessments regarding patient safety, economics, and quality of health as well as access to health. It is indeed evident that health care reforms have enabled improved care delivery and a stable economy.
References
Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury. (2013). Health insurance premium tax credit. Final regulations. Federal Register, 78(22), 7264–7265.
Koh, H. K., & Sebelius, K. G. (2010). Promoting Prevention through the Affordable Care Act. New England Journal of Medicine, 363(14), 1296–1299. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp1008560
Health Care Reforms: A Critical Analysis